Archive for the 'Case Keenum' Tag Under 'UCLA' Category

The final score was shocking. But while watching Saturday's game unfold, if you've watched UCLA's entire 2011 season unfold, it was hardly so. The Bruins are who we thought they were.

Here are my five observations following their 50-0 loss at USC:

1. The Lame Duck

“Wow.” That was the first word Coach Rick Neuheisel uttered in his postgame news conference. The relentlessly optimistic Neuheisel sounded as somber as ever, perhaps seeing the writing on the Coliseum field. There has been increasing talk that he would be fired if UCLA lost to USC by any margin. There's no way he survives a 50-point massacre, the Bruins' fifth loss this season by at least 25 points.

Saturday will be UCLA defensive coordinator Joe Tresey's first go-round with USC quarterback Matt Barkley. Tresey has been rattling off Barkley's season totals this week like it was his own phone number and said “he's in the same category” as Heisman favorite Andrew Luck.

This is round three for safety Tony Dye, who said Barkley is a different quarterback than the one who struggled in two previous meetings with the Bruins.

“He's much more mature,” Dye said. “He's pretty amazing now on his progressions. He'll go from the first to the third receiver and still make a great throw. In years past he hadn't done that and would lock onto one guy."

“He was still a good quarterback so he could fit things in there, but now he's actually reading his defenses," Dye said.

The Bruins have faced the likes of Luck, Case Keenum and Nick Foles this season, and have fared badly (Keenum), worse (Luck) and worst (Foles). And yet they called the matchup with Barkley their toughest.

Needless to say, UCLA didn't pass its first test. Check out my assessment of the Bruins' performance at Houston, then cast your vote.

OFFENSE

The good: UCLA's 554 yards and 34 points are that much more noteworthy when compared to last year's rankings (No. 100 in total offense, No. 104 in scoring). ... QB Richard Brehaut passed for 264 yards, ran for a career-high 87 and led four touchdown drives -- all in relief.

The bad: A bad snap and false starts proved costly on a few drives. ... UCLA went scoreless its first two possessions of the fourth quarter, the second of which lasted 7:02.

Did UCLA get beat or beat itself? Here are five observations from Saturday's 38-34 loss at Houston in the season opener:

1. Brehaut is The One.

More than anything else, UCLA lost to Houston because of its porous defense. But the Bruins might have won despite that had they started the right quarterback. As Kevin Prince tries to come back from a concussion, Coach Rick Neuheisel's decision going into next week's game against San Jose State is easy: play Richard Brehaut and only Richard Brehaut. He was the biggest reason UCLA nearly overcame a 31-14 deficit.

Brehaut made it a game largely because he brings so much more than Prince as a passer, something that has been obvious for weeks this fall if not all of last season. He completed nearly two-thirds of his passes, utilizing all parts of the field, as UCLA averaged a gaudy 11.1 yards per attempt.

An over sized chart with UCLA's 2011 football schedule dominates the wall on the side of a large video screen in the Bruins' film room.

The first line of the giant schedule has UCLA playing Houston next Sept. 3 in Austin.

The game will actually be in Houston and Cougars quarterback Case Keenum will be there.

UCLA's 2011 schedule got harder on Friday when the NCAA granted Keenum a sixth year of eligibility. Keenum, who was closing in on a series of NCAA passing and offensive records, missed the last nine games of the 2010 season after injuring his knee last September against the Bruins while trying to make a tackle on an interception return.

Coach Rick Neuheisel has often made the point that it's never as good as you think it is after a win and never as bad as think it is after a loss. That's worth noting as we jump into these five observations from UCLA's 31-13 victory against Houston on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

1. 10-2?

OK, so I didn't actually say UCLA would go 1-11, but I joked about it. I think a small piece of me began to even believe it. After all, the Bruins were 0-2 and coming off their worst Pac-10 home loss ever. Ever.

I realized coming in a lot could still change between September and October (or even between early and late September), but one thing certainly wouldn't – the Bruins' schedule, which remains one of the toughest in the nation.

UCLA, coming off its worst ever Pac-10 home loss and facing its worst start since the Nixon administration, pounded No. 23 Houston 31-13 Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

A week earlier Bruin fans rushed for the exits in the third quarter of a 35-0 loss to Stanford, well before UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel took the public address system microphone to apologize.

UCLA fans again made an early exit Saturday, secure in the knowledge the game was already in hand.

This time no apology was needed.

A crowd of 54,407 watched the Bruins (1-2 overall, 0-1 Pac-10) avoid their first 0-3 start since 1971 by transforming an offense that had been largely ineffective in losses to Kansas State and Stanford and shoring up a defensive front seven that had been just as bad.

UCLA, showing vast improvement on both sides of the ball, opened up a 21-3 halftime lead against No. 23 Houston Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

Bruin tailback Johnathan Franklin had 12 carries for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince completed 7 of 12 passes for 83 yards and also ran for a touchdown.

Houston's high powered offense struggled to get consistent traction against the Bruin defense. The Cougars' Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Case Keenum threw a pair of interceptions and suffered what appeared to be a game-ending injury while trying to tackle UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers after the second interception.

Ayers picked off Keenum's 1st and goal pass on the goal-line and charged down the left sideline. Keenum dove after Ayers appearing to injure his right knee in the process. Ayers was finally brought down 77 yards later at the Houston 23. But UCLA missed an opportunity to extend its lead when freshman tailback Malcolm Jones fumbled after a seven-yard gain on the next play.

The Bruins did a better job of taking advantage of Rahim Moore's interception of Keenum earlier, with Franklin scoring his second TD.